Jung Ki-yeol (; born December 5, 1981), known professionally as Kai (), is a South Korean singer and musical theatre actor. He is a classically trained baritone best known in musical theatre and has starred in Korean productions of A Tale of Two Cities, The Three Musketeers, Phantom, Jekyll & Hyde and Les Misérables. Outside of musical theatre, Kai has appeared as a panelist on various singing variety shows such as King of Mask Singer and was host of the classical music show Music of the World on KBS Classic FM.
Early life and education Kai grew up in a musical home and began singing as a child at a local children's choir. He attended Seoul Arts High School and graduated from Seoul National University where he majored in voice. He continued with graduate studies at his alma mater after completing his mandatory military service. In 2009, he completed his master's degree and wrote his thesis on the music of Modest Musorgsky.
Career Early career Despite having an academic background in classical music, Kai decided to pursue a career in the classical crossover genre, which was still relatively new in South Korea at that time. In a 2009 interview, Kai stated that he had shocked his professors and was met with opposition from most of them when he announced his intention to be a crossover singer rather than pursue a career in opera, as many of his peers had done. His decision was influenced by his professor, retired tenor Park In-soo, whose 1989 hit duet "Nostalgia" (향수) with folk singer Lee Dong-won is considered to be one of the earliest commercially successful classical crossover Korean songs; Park himself was expelled by the Korea National Opera and ostracized by the domestic classical music community after the song was released due to the staunch conservative and segregationist attitudes still prevalent at that time.
Kai split his time between performing popular music at various festivals and standard classical opera repertoire at concert halls in an attempt to challenge the prevailing perception that classically trained singers would lose their singing skills if they dabbled in popular music. He gained wider public recognition after featuring as a guest artist at the 2009 nation-wide concert tour of renowned Korean operatic soprano Sumi Jo. Up until then, he had performed under the name "Kyul" (결), a portmanteau of his given name. Jo suggested "Kai" for his stage name as it was easier for non-Korean audiences to pronounce and he has used it ever since.
In addition to performing, Kai also released a number of singles and albums and done guest vocals for other artists. For his 2009 maxi single, he collaborated with veteran K-pop composer and producer Kim Hyung-suk, known for his work with J. Y. Park among others, to produce original material rather than the common practice of reinterpreting traditional classical crossover repertoire. He released his first full-length studio album I AM KAI in March 2011 and it debuted at #92 on the Gaon Album Chart and rose to peak at #26 within three weeks. His releases have also topped the domestic classical charts, making him one of the earliest crossover artists to have charted in both the classical and Gaon charts simultaneously.
Musical theater Kai made his musical theatre debut in the 2011 production of The Story of My Life. At that time, there were relatively few classically trained singers active in musical theater, with fellow Seoul National University voice majors Ryu Jeong-han and Kim So-hyun being the two most prolific and well-known. Most musical actors and actresses were either pop singers or trained actors who later received vocal training.
Kai has been cast as authoritarian or "lofty" characters due to his powerful voice and starred as the protagonist in the Korean productions of many notable musicals, including A Tale of Two Cities, Phantom, The Three Musketeers and The Count of Monte Cristo. In 2017, he won critical acclaim and recognition for his roles as the eponymous character in the world premiere of Ben Hur, a Korean musical adaption of Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ, and as Crown Prince Rudolf in Rudolf (promoted in Korea as The Last Kiss). He was cast as King Arthur in the 2019 Seoul premiere of the Korean adaptation of Excalibur, which won rave reviews from both critics and audiences and was one of the best-selling musicals that year; due to its popularity, the musical was brought back in 2021 and Kai was one of several original cast members who returned. In late 2020 he was cast in the musical adaptation of The Sorrows of Young Werther and was nominated for Best Lead Actor at the 5th Korean Musical Awards.
Other activities From 2010 to 2014, Kai was a DJ on KBS Classic FM's popular classical music show 세상의 모든 음악 (ko) (Music of the World), the South Korean equivalent of BBC Radio 3. He has also participated in singing variety shows such as Immortal Songs: Singing the Legend, the second season of I Am a Singer and King of Mask Singer. From 2017 to 2021 he was a regular panelist on King of Mask Singer as one of five "music specialists".
Outside of musical theater and concerts, Kai has performed at various Korea Tourism Organization-sponsored events throughout Asia to promote Korean musicals as a potential attraction for visiting tourists. He received a commendation from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism for his work.
Discography Albums # Title Album details Peak positions SalesKORWeeklyKORMonthly 1 I AM KAI Released: March 23, 2011 Label: Decca, Universal Music Korea Format: CD, digital download 26 82 KOR: 1,797+ 2 Kai in Italy Released: October 15, 2014 Label: Mirroball Music Format: CD, digital download 34 —3Kai in KoreaReleased: October 29, 2019 Label: EMK Entertainment Format: CD, digital download4Kai on MusicalReleased: August 16, 2022 Label: EMK Entertainment Format: CD, digital download
Maxi singles # Title Album details Notes/ 1 미완(未完) Released: April 28, 2008 Label: LOEN Entertainment Format: CD, digital download 2 Edgewalker Released: December 8, 2009 Label: Universal Music Korea Format: CD, digital download 3 Clad Meets Piano Released: February 2, 2010 Label: Universal Music Korea Format: CD, digital download
Soundtrack and singles contributions Year Track Album Notes/ 2009 눈물 Can't Stop Now OST 2010 운명의 연인에게 (Did I Not Love You)(Secret Garden ft. Kai) With Special Guests (Korean Special Edition) 그대 내게 다시(Jeon Jae-duck with Kai) A-LIVE Vol.1 김형석의 다락방
Theater YearEnglish titleKorean title Role 2012–2013A Tale of Two Cities두 도시 이야기Charles Darnay2014Dracula드라큘라Jonathan Harker2014–2015Marie Antoinette마리 앙투아네트Axel von Fersen the Younger2015–2021Phantom유령Phantom2016The Three Musketeers삼총사D'ArtagnanJack the Ripper잭 더 리퍼Daniel2016–2021The Count of Monte Cristo몬테 크리스토 백작Edmond Dantès, The Count of Monte Cristo2017–2018Rudolf더 라스트 키스Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria2017–2019Ben-Hur벤허Ben-Hur2018–2022Frankenstein프랑켄슈타인Henry Dupre/Monster2019–2020Rebecca레베카Maxim de Winter2019–2021Excalibur엑스칼리버King Arthur2021–2022Jekyll & Hyde지킬앤하이드Dr. Henry Jekyll/Mr. Edward Hyde2023Beethoven베토벤Beethoven2023–2024Les Misérables레 미제라블Inspector Javert
Awards and nominations Vocal competitions 2002: Schubert Society of Korea Competition – consolation prize (semi-finalist) 2007: Dong-a Music Competition – 3rd place, voice (male) 2009: Osaka International Music Competition (jp) – 3rd place, voice/opera category
Musical theater Year Award Category Nominated work Result 2012 18th Korea Musical Awards (ko) Best Male Newcomer A Tale of Two Cities 2017 9th Seoul Success Award Daesang (Grand Prize) / Musical Actor of the Year Ben-Hur 2018 2nd Korea Musical Awards (ko) Best Lead Actor Ben-Hur 2021 5th Korea Musical Awards Best Lead Actor Werther
References
External links
Kai (singer, born 1981) at EMK Entertainment (formerly EA&C)